Folding doors



R; E. CARTER FOLDING DOORS Jan. 17, 1957 Filed Feb. 1 19 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 062 1 BY rraawzrs- 17, 1967 CARTER 3,298,423

FOLDING DOORS Filed Feb. 1, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR.

Men A. carter United States Patent 3,298,423 FOLDING DOORS" Robert E. Carter, Shawnee, Kans. (939 W. 8tht., Kansas City, Mo. 64152) Filed Feb. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 429,566

4 Claims. (Cl. 160-97) This invention relates to a folding door structure and more particularly to a door structure for use in automotive showrooms and the like wherein it is desirable to adjust the door opening to alternately receive pedestrian walk-in traffic and vehicular trafii'c.

The principal objects of the present invention are: to provide a folding door assembly which is easily altered from a normal swinging doo'r pedestrian entrance to an opening substantially wider than the normal opening so as to selectively receive wide objects therethrough such as automotive vehicles; to provide such an assembly which includes a roller in contact with the floor for supporting heavy folding door sections with a minimum of stress on hinges and frame members; to provide such an assembly wherein the swinging pedestrian doors include overhead closers and a conventional deadlock, to provide such a structure wherein one of the overhead closers may be disconnected from the transom barto' permit lateral displacement of an entire door from the normal position thereof; to provide such an assembly wherein the roller is provided with a resilient compression coupling to permit ease of rolling over an uneven floor surface while maintaining door support; to provide such a folding door configuration wherein the threshold is provided with a laterally extending slot-exposing the' floor therethrough and aligned to permit the roller to enter thereinto for ease of door manipulation; to provide such an assembly wherein safety bolts are provided for conveniently maintaining the assembly in pedestrian walk-in position but allowing great ease in converting to alarger opening; and to provide such a structure which is simple in construction and rugged and reliable in use. v

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth by way of illustration andexample certain embodiments of this invention.

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a door assembly embodying this invention. I

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view throughthe assembly taken on the line 2-2, FIG. 1, on an enlarged scale, particularly showing the hinge connections between the doors.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view through the assembly taken on the line 33, FIG. 1, on-an enlarged scale, particularly showing the construction of the transom bar and threshold.

FIG. 4 is atop view ofthe assembly with the doors shown in pedestrian walk-in position.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the doors in the wider opening vehicle entry position.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view through the assembly, on an enlarged scale, showing a roller support from the side. u

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view through the assembly, on an enlarged scale, showing theroller support from the front.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view through the assembly, on an enlarged-scale, showing the construction of a safety bolt and throw for locking a door in closed position.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view through the assembly on an enlarged scale, showing a disconnectable overhead closer cooperating between the door and transom bar.

door assembly embodying this invention.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary plan view showing a bracket plate secured to the transom bar for selectively receiving an arm of the overhead closer of FIG. 9.

Referring to the drawings in more detail:

The reference numeral 1 generally indicates a folding The assembly 1 includes a door mounting frame 2 having spaced apart vertical side jambs 3 and 4', a threshold 5 and a transom bar 6 defining an opening 7 sufficient, in the illustrated example, to receive vehicular trafiic or the like therethrough. The frame 2 also includes a portion 8 extending upwardly from the transom bar 6 and forming a frame retainer for transom plate glass 9.

A first door It) has upper and lower bars 11 and 12 and inner and outer side bars respectively designated 13 and 14. The bars 11, 12, 13 and 14 form a frame 15 for supporting plate glass 16 and a suitable push bar 17 for convenient opening by pedestrian traffic. The first door 10 has hinge members 18 and 19 connected to the frame 2 for swinging movement of the outer side bar 14 at least about into and out of the opening 7 as best illustrated by the broken lines 20 in FIGS. 4 and 5. The swinging movement of the outer side bar 14 simultaneously results in the pivoting of the inner side bar 13 adjacent the side jarnb 3. A first overhead closer 21 is secured to the first door upper bar 11 and, by means of linkage arms 22, to the transom bar 6 for resiliently urging the door 10 to a normally closed, pedestrian pushop'en position extending into the opening 7 from the jamb 3 as best illustrated in FIG. 1. r A conventional deadlock 23 is secured intermediate the ends of the outer side bar 14 for locking the door 10 in closed position through cooperation with an adjacent door described hereinafter.

A second door 24' has upper and lower bars 25 and 26 and inner and outer side bars respectively designated 27 and 28. The door 24 has a hinge 29 preferably of the piano type secured to the jarnb 4 for swinging movement of the door outer side bar 28 at least about 90 into and out of the opening as best illustrated by the broken lines 30, FIG. 5. The swinging movement of the bar 28 simultaneously results in the pivoting of the inner side bar 27 adjacent the jarnb 4 due to the operation of the. hinge 29. The bars 25, 26, 27 and 28 form a door frame 31 which receives and supports a sheet 32 of plate glass, in the illustrated example of substantially the same size as the plate. glass 16. p

A pair of safety bolts designated33 and 34 are mounted respectively on the upper and lower bars 25 and 26 and extending into the outer side bar 28 and are respectively engage-able with the transom bar 6 and threshold 5 to maintain the second door 24 normally fixed in a position extending into the opening '7 from the side jamb 4 as best illustrated in FIG. 1. The safety bolts 33 and 34 each include a vertically extending rod 35 slidable in suitable guides 36 and 37 in the door frame so as to selectively extend beyond the door frame into receiver openings 38 formed in the transom bar and threshold. The rods 35 are moved into and out of locking position by means of a throw 39seoured to the rod and extending laterally therefrom. The throws 39 terminate in a piuota ble link 40 -by which the rod may be retained in position due to engagement with an abutting door surface 41. A suitable knob or handle 42 is provided on the link 40 in order to grasp same for moving the rod.

A third door 43 has upper and lower bars 44 and 45 and inner and'outer side bars 46 and 47. The third door 43 has a hinge 48 at the'inner side bar 46 and mounted on the second door outer side 'bar 28 for pivoting the third door selectively approximately 90 about the second door outer sidebar 28 (FIG. 4) or approximately into overlapping parallel arrangement with the second door 24 (FIG. 5).

A second overhead closer 49 is secured between the third door upper bar 44 and the transom bar 6 for resiliently urging the third door to a closed pedestrian walkin position, that is, extending into the opening 7 with the outer side bar 47 adjacent the first door outer side bar 14. The second overhead closer 49 has linkage arms 50 and 51, the latter terminating in a receiver stud 52. A mounting plate 53 is suitably secured to the downwardly facing surface of the transom bar 6 and has a hook member 54 pivotally secured thereto for selectively engaging the receiving stud 52 for anchoring the linkage arm 51 with respect to the transom bar 6. It is to be understood that when the hook member 54 is disengaged from the receiving stud 52, the third door 43 is free for pivoting into overlapping parallel arrangement with the second door 24, but when the hook member 54 is engaged with the receiving stud 52 the third door 43 may be opened only approximately 90 for normal pedestrian walk-in use.

The third door 43 includes safety bolts 55 and 56 similar to the safety bolts 3.3 and 34 described above and which are adapted to cooperate with the transom bar 6 and threshold for locking the second door 24 into closed position. The third door 43 includes a deadlock receiver 57 adapted to cooperate with the deadlock 23 whereby the first door It? may be locked in closed position adjacent the third door 43 when the latter door is secured by means of the safety bolts 55 and 56.

The third door 43 also includes a resilient air seal 58 to prevent excessive air leakage between the first and third doors when in closed position, and a push bar 59 similar to the push bar 17 for pedestrian use.

A horizontally and laterally extending slot 60 is formed in the threshold 5 adjacent and within the are of travel of the second door outer side bar 28 and exposes the floor 61 therebeneath. A roller assembly 62 is mounted on the second door lower bar 26 and has a door supporting roller 63 in rolling engagement with the floor. The roller 63 is preferably coated with a relatively soft cover 63' such as vinyl. The roller assembly 62 includes a wheel mounting bracket 64 adapted to support the roller 63 for rolling movement in a fixed direction transverse to the second door lower bar 26, that is, tangent to the are of movement of the second door about the hinge 29". The roller 63 is positioned to be movable into and out of the slot 60 upon swinging movement of the second door 24-, FIG. 4.

The roller assembly 62 includes a plurality of resilient helical compression springs 64' located between the Wheel mounting bracket 64 and a door engaging bracket 65. The wheel mounting bracket 64 retains a pair of horizontally extending pins 66 engaged in vertically elongated slots 67 in the bracket 65 to permit relative vertical motion between the brackets and thus provide a resilient compression coupling between the roller 63 and the second door 24. This coupling permits ease of rolling over an uneven floor surface or dirty floor surface while maintaining door support. The roller assembly 62 thus reduces stress on the hinge 2-9 which would otherwise support the entire weight of both the second door 24 and third door 43. The slots 60 in the threshold may be eliminated and the roller then would roll onto the threshold when the door 24 is in closed position.

By way of operation, the position for normal pedestrian use of the door assembly is illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein the second door 24 is secured in closed position with the safety bolts 33 and 34 and the doors and 43 swing open on their respective hinges and are urged resiliently toward a closed position by the overhead closers 21 and 43. When, however, it is desirable to produce an opening greater than that provided by pivoting of the doors 10 and 43, the hook member 54 is disengaged from the closer ar-m receiving stud 52, the safety bolts 33 and 34 are disengaged and the second and third doors 24 and 43 are swung into overlapping parallel arrangement and together pivoted out of the opening 7 to position such as is illustrated in FIG. 5, substantially increasing the width of the opening otherwise presented for entrance. Reversion of the assembly back to normal pedestrian walk-in use requires only reversing the above-noted steps. It is to be understood that the third door safety bolts 55 and 56 must be disengaged when the second and third doors are folded together.

Although one form of this invention has been illustrated and described, it is not to be limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A folding door assembly for alternate use by pedestrian traffic and traffic requiring a wider opening comprising:

(a) a door mounting frame defining an opening wider than required for pedestrian traffic, said frame including a threshold,

(b) a first door having a hinge mounted with respect to said frame for swinging movement of said first door into and out of said opening,

(c) a second door spaced from said first door and having an outer side bar, said second door having a hinge mounted with respect to said frame for swinging movement of said second door outer side bar into and out of said opening, means cooperating between said second door and said frame for selectively locking said second door in position extending in said opening,

(d) a third door normally located between said first and second .doors and mounted on said second door and movable from a position adjacent said first door to a position in overlapping parallel arrangement with said second door,

(e) whereby, said second and third doors may be selectively folded together and pivoted on said sec ond door hinge to displace said third door from an obstructingposition in said opening,

(f) a horizontally and laterally extending slot in said threshold within the arc of movement of said second door outer side bar and exposing the floor therebeneath, and

(g) a roller assembly mounted on said second door and having a door supporting roller in rolling engagement with the floor, said roller being movable into and out of said slot upon said swinging movement of said second door.

2. The folding door assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said roller assembly includes a resilient member between said roller and said second door providing a resilient coupling to permit ease of rolling over the fioor While maintaining door support.

3. A folding door assembly for alternate use by pedestrian trafiic and trafiic requiring a wider opening comprising:

(a) a door mounting frame defining an opening wider than required for pedestrian traffic, said frame including a threshold,

(b) a first door having a hinge mounted with respect to said frame for swinging movement of said first door into and out of said opening,

(c) a second door spaced from said first door and having an outer side bar, said second door having a hinge mounted with respect to said frame for swinging movement of said second door outer side bar into and out of said opening, means cooperating between said second door and said frame for selectively locking said second door in position extending in said opening,

(d) a third door normally located between said first and second doors and mounted on said second door and movable from a position adjacent said first door to a position in overlapping parallel arrangement with said second door,

(e) whereby said second and third doors may b filec;

tively folded together and pivoted on said second door hinge to displace said third door from an obstructing position in said opening,

(f) said third door having an overhead closure secured thereto and engaged with said frame for normally resiliently urging said third door to a closed position adjacent said first door, and

(g) release means connecting said closure to said frame for releasing said closure to permit said third door to be displaced from said obstructing position.

4. A folding door assembly for use alternately for pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic comprising:

(a) a door mounting frame having spaced apart vertical side jambs and a threshold and a transom bar defining an opening sufficient to receive vehicular traffic therethrough,

(b) a first door having a hinge connected to said frame for swinging movement of said first door at least about 90 into and out of said opening, a first overhead closure secured between said first door and said transom bar for resiliently urging said first door to a position extending into said opening, a deadlock secured to said first door,

(0) a second door spaced from said first door and having an outer side bar, said second door having a hinge mounted on said frame for swinging movement of said second door outer side bar at least about 90 into and out of said opening, a pair of safety bolts mounted respectively on said second door and respectively engageable with said transom bar and threshold to maintain said second door normally fixed in a position extending into said opening, and

(d) a third door having a hinge mounted on said second door outer side bar for pivoting of said third door about 180 into overlapping parallel arrangement with said second door, a second overhead closer secured between said third door and said transom bar for resiliently urging said third door to a position extending into said opening and adjacent said first door, said second closer having a selectively releasable connecting member securing same to said transom bar,

(e) whereby said first door may be pivoted outwardly and said second closer member and second door safetly bolts disengaged from said transom bar and threshold and said third door folded against said second door and said third and second doors pivoted on said second door hinge to selectively provide an opening suitable for vehicular trafi'ic.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,096,700 5/1914 Emmert -117 1,429,833 9/ 1922 Beall 49-365 X 1,581,854 4/1926 May 160199 X 1,612,443 12/ 1926 Johnson et al. 160-206 2,104,425 1/ 1938 Kuntz 160-206 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,309,059 10/ 1962 France.

611,895 11/ 1948 Great Britain.

HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

P. M. CAUN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A FOLDING DOOR ASSEMBLY FOR ALTERNATE USE BY PEDESTRAIN TRAFFIC AND TRAFFIC REQUIRING A WIDER OPENING COMPRISING: (A) A DOOR MOUNTING FRAME DEFINING AN OPENING WIDER THAN REQUIRED FOR PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC, SAID FRAME INCLUDING A THRESHOLD, (B) A FIRST DOOR HAVING A HINGE MOUNTED WITH RESPECT TO SAID FRAME FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT OF SAID FIRST DOOR INTO AND OUT OF SAID OPENING, (C) A SECOND DOOR SPACED FROM SAID FIRST DOOR AND HAVING AN OUTER SIDE BAR, SAID SECOND DOOR HAVING A HINGE MOUNTED WITH RESPECT TO SAID FRAME FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT OF SAID SECOND DOOR OUTER SIDE BAR INTO AND OUT OF SAID OPENING, MEANS COOPERATING BETWEEN SAID SECOND DOOR AND SAID FRAME FOR SELECTIVELY LOCKING SAID SECOND DOOR IN POSITION EXTENDING IN SAID OPENING, (D) A THIRD DOOR NORMALLY LOCATED BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND DOORS AND MOUNTED ON SAID SECOND DOOR AND MOVABLE FROM A POSITION ADJACENT SAID FIRST DOOR TO A POSITION IN OVERLAPPING PARALLEL ARRANGEMENT WITH SAID SECOND DOOR, (E) WHEREBY SAID SECOND AND THIRD DOORS MAY BE SELECTIVELY FOLDED TOGETHER AND PIVOTED ON SAID SECOND DOOR HINGE TO DISPLACE SAID THIRD DOOR FROM AN OBSTRUCTING POSITION IN SAID OPENING, (F) A HORIZONTALLY AND LATERALLY EXTENDING SLOT IN SAID THRESHOLD WITHIN THE ARC OF MOVEMENT OF SAID SECOND DOOR OUTER SIDE BAR AND EXPOSING THE FLOOR THEREBENEATH, AND (G) A ROLLER ASSEMBLY MOUNTED ON SAID SECOND DOOR AND HAVING A DOOR SUPPORTING ROLLER IN ROLLING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FLOOR, SAID ROLLER BEING MOVABLE INTO AND OUT OF SAID SLOT UPON SAID SWINGING MOVEMENT OF SAID SECOND DOOR. 